Flight from Frankfurt to Newark Airport

It's been 3 years but some things, like your first and only trip abroad, have a way of staying fresh in memory.
On my trip to newark I was much more comfortable - having succesfully sprayed myself
freely, at a duty-free mall at Terminal B-25, with Hugo BOSS and all other international brands
available there. I was smelling divine to myself and had rid myself completely of all tell-tale signs of a cramped seven hours on the flight from Mumbai to Frankfurt. I was also very awed
by the really smart fashionable dresses, headgear and stilletoes I had seen on women at the airport. They seemed to have just stepped out of the HBO movies I watch on cable.
Fortunately, a lady was sitting next to me and I was sitting next to the aisle and a seat away from the window. Having a lady next to me, I decide it was quite safe to experiment on something I had been wanting to do since long. So the next time the stewardess, rolled the tray nearer, instead of the usual apple juice I nodded when she said gin:). Now I had read that gin was quite ok and something that women used to go in for. The stewardess then asked me - "What will you have with that? " I had no clue!. She prompted -"ice?" - Nod again.
So finally I had my "Gin and ice" in a cool little glass next to me:) . The minute I tasted it - I regretted not having read up a little on the taste of gin. Awful is a euphemism. But I was not the one to hold back. I am going to finish this pint/peg or whatever the measure was- no matter what! Sreeja- you are going to drink and know it. So I proceeded to sip the extremely bitter and nascent drink(as I felt it then). They were showing a good movie on TV which helped me out a good deal:) After sometime I realized something. I was smiling. And there was no way I could stop myself. I don't know when it came on me but I was smiling all round.
I could judge how wide and pleasant my smile was by the puzzled/horrified expression of a trio of Bengali guys sitting in the next row. It was like my facial muscles just refused to unrelax!
And smiles to all my fellow passengers. Then the food came. I was having Veg- Asian food which was served before the regular non-veg fare in the flight.
Now, what happened was that with this new lightness of being which I was experiencing came enhanced concern for my co-passenger. I turned to her and said " But why has your food not come?" She explained the reason quite patiently. Then I went back to my food plate.
Somehow opening the silver foil on the dishes had become a very complicated task and mind-body coordination seemed to be a big issue there. So I took a break from the task and turned to my seat companion. " You must be hungry no! But why they have not served you?" I saw a smile beginning to form on her face. "It's coming" - she said. "They bring it after the "Asian-Veg food. " Satisfied I went back to the task of opening te various packets in my plate. My hands had an irritating way of coming in each other's way and toppling things. The distance from the soup bowl to my mouth was very precariously traversed by a crazy, fidgety spoon in my unusually steady hands.
After a few sips it suddenly struck me that my neighbour had not received her food -plate. Concerned, I turned to her. "You are not feeling hungry? You did not order? Why they have not got your food?" .
Many smiles later with a plate-that looked like there was more food on it, than what was originally served I landed in Newark. After the flight, I realized that I was lucky to have a very patient co-passenger.